A large number of activists, mostly belonging to the BJP and the other Sangh outfits, gathered outside the venue and shouted slogans against the plays, including Ponga Pandit, police sources said.

However, police dispersed the crowd and took 12 activists into custody, the sources said.

The plays were staged as per schedule, they added.

Earlier, the BJP in Madhya Pradesh had accused the Congress government of trying to divide the society by allowing staging of controversial plays by Tanveer.

“Habib Tanveer is being used as a puppet for spreading communal passion and divide the society by the state government,” said BJP state unit spokesperson Kailash Vijayvargiya in Bhopal.

He alleged that Tanveer is being made to stage plays which hurt the sentiments and feelings of Hindus, pushing development issues to the back seat in the state.

In Hoshangabad, shops and business houses remained closed following a daylong bandh called by the BJP, Shiv Sena and the other Sangh outfits against the police lathicharge and arrest of their 35 activists for disruption of Tanveer’s plays.

Office helipad just for Jaya

Chennai (PTI): A helipad for the exclusive use of Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa for her district tours has been built opposite the secretariat complex here.

A trial of the helipad was carried out by the navy and police officials on Thursday.

A state-owned helicopter made a sortie to ascertain the extent of safety in the presence of senior government and police officials.

Whenever Jayalalithaa goes on district tours, she either uses the Meenambakkam airport or the helipad near the naval officers’ mess, situated close to the secretariat.

The helipad is expected to become operational soon.

Plea on bail in Jessica case

New Delhi (PTI): Justice S.K. Agarwal of Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to hear a plea seeking cancellation of bail granted to Vikas Yadav, an accused in the Jessica Lal murder case.

The prosecution had on July 15 requested the court to cancel the bail granted to Yadav, son of Rajya Sabha MP D.P. Yadav, alleging that he had committed another crime while on bail in this case.

Dancer shot

Gorakhpur (PTI): A youth, who was drunk, allegedly shot dead a dancer while she was performing at a function on Wednesday night, official sources said. The youth is said to have shot Reena, 20, in the precincts of Shahpur police station during Janmashtami celebrations. Reena died on the spot. The youth was arrested and the weapon seized.

Dowry sentence

Akola (PTI): A man has been sentenced to three years’ rigorous imprisonment for abetting the suicide of his wife following mental torture over dowry. The sessions court convicted Narayan Shriram Mundale, 25, for abetting the suicide of his wife on April 11, 1998, and imposed on him a fine of Rs 1,000. Renuka, who married Mundale on May 20, 1996, killed herself following mental and physical torture after she refused to bring Rs 10,000 as dowry.

Driver held for rape

Navi Mumbai (PTI): Police arrested a truck driver in connection with the rape of a minor girl even as angry residents blocked traffic on the Mumbai-Pune express highway for nearly five hours on Thursday to protest against the crime. The police said the accused, Sukhvir Mahinder Singh, 32, from Amritsar, allegedly raped a seven-year-old girl at Rajiv Gandhi maidan at Belapur on Wednesday.

Duo in fraud net

Madurai (PTI): Two brothers have been arrested for allegedly cheating a person on the pretext of getting him a job in Saudi Arabia. Police said Abdul Kareem and his brother had demanded Rs 1.85 lakh when Fakrudeen approached the duo on March 10 for a job.

Around 280 publishing houses will participate in the 9th Delhi Book Fair, beginning on Saturday. The fair, which assumes significance with Unesco declaring Delhi the world book capital for 2003-04, will focus on the theme, Publishing for Children.